Dynamics of fiberboids

Abstract

Fiberboids are active filaments trapped at the interface of two phases, able of harnessing energy (and matter) fluxes across the interface in order to produce a rolling-like self-propulsion. We discuss several table-top examples and develop the physical framework for understanding their complex dynamics. In spite of some specific features in the examples studied we conclude that the phenomenon of fiberboids is highly generic and robust across different materials, types of fluxes and timescales. Fiberboid motility should play a role from the macroscopic realm down to the micro scale and, as recently hypothesized, possibly as a means of biological self-propulsion that has escaped previous attention.